The fee is bigger here, and it is calculated on a bigger number.

Two things make a US executive hire cost more than the same seat in Britain, and only one of them is the percentage. The other is what the percentage is charged on, which is the part that surprises companies hiring across the Atlantic for the first time.

The fee

25% to 35%

of first-year total cash compensation, agreed in writing before anything starts.

Charged on

Total cash, not base

Base plus target bonus, not base alone. A third is a common convention. On an executive with a meaningful bonus that difference alone can be worth more than the gap in percentage.

What they pay

Nothing, ever

The person hired pays no fee and gives up no share of what they earn, in any market.

What it comes to

Across first-year total cash compensation at the two ends of the range. Local currency, and the exact figure for a given search is written down before the work begins.

First-year total cash compensation	Fee at 25%	Fee at 35%
$150,000	$37,500	$52,500
$200,000	$50,000	$70,000
$250,000	$62,500	$87,500
$300,000	$75,000	$105,000
$400,000	$100,000	$140,000

What is different about hiring here

The fee is charged on total cash, not on salaryIn the UK the convention is a share of first-year base. In the US it is normally first-year total cash compensation, meaning base plus the expected bonus. An executive on a 200,000 base with a 30% target bonus has a 260,000 fee base, so the same percentage produces a materially larger number. Establish which definition is in the agreement before signing it, because both are used and the difference is real money.

Equity is usually not in the fee base, and usually is in the offerSenior US packages carry equity far more often than UK ones, and it is normally excluded from the search fee. That is worth knowing in both directions: it keeps the fee down, and it means the number on the fee agreement understates what you are actually paying the person. Budget the package, not the fee base.

They can start much faster than a British hireMost US employment is at will in most states, so there is usually no statutory notice period to serve. Two weeks is a courtesy rather than a contract. The twelve-week UK timeline, where the notice period is often the longest part, compresses considerably: the search takes as long as the search takes, and then they start.

The cost on top of salary is different, and lower than the UKNo employer National Insurance and no auto-enrolment pension. Instead: the employer half of FICA, federal and state unemployment tax, and health insurance, which in the US is an employer cost rather than a public one and is the item most likely to be underestimated by a company hiring from outside.

What to ask before signing anything

Is the fee calculated on base or on total cash compensation, and is that written into the agreement?
Which states are you able to search in, and do you understand the pay transparency rules where we are hiring?
What is your replacement guarantee, and how long does it run?
How do you handle a candidate who is weighing an equity-heavy offer against ours?
Have you placed this seat before at our stage, in this country?

Hiring somewhere else

The same service runs in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, each through a search practice working in that market rather than one firm reaching across borders. If the job turns out to be two or three days a week rather than five, the cost calculator will say so before you spend anything.

Common questions

How much does executive search cost in the United States?

25% to 35% of first-year total cash compensation. Base plus target bonus, not base alone. A third is a common convention. On an executive with a meaningful bonus that difference alone can be worth more than the gap in percentage. The figure for a given search is agreed in writing before the work starts.

The fee is charged on total cash, not on salary?

In the UK the convention is a share of first-year base. In the US it is normally first-year total cash compensation, meaning base plus the expected bonus. An executive on a 200,000 base with a 30% target bonus has a 260,000 fee base, so the same percentage produces a materially larger number. Establish which definition is in the agreement before signing it, because both are used and the difference is real money.

Equity is usually not in the fee base, and usually is in the offer?

Senior US packages carry equity far more often than UK ones, and it is normally excluded from the search fee. That is worth knowing in both directions: it keeps the fee down, and it means the number on the fee agreement understates what you are actually paying the person. Budget the package, not the fee base.

Does the person being hired pay anything?

No. Not to be approached, not to be placed, and never a share of what they earn. That holds in every market and every tier.

Check it yourself

Employment law in the United States varies by state, and so do pay transparency rules, non-compete enforceability and notice expectations. This is general information rather than legal advice, and anything that matters should go past a US employment lawyer in the state you are hiring in.

United States

Start with the job, not the fee

Send the role, the market and what it has to get done in the first year. You get a written brief back and a number, both agreed before any work starts.

Email the role →